Chapter 12

My First REAL Monster Hunt PART 1

(that time I went fishing after dark)

My eyes adjusted to the dark while my father used a glowing yellow gem to light the inside of the ruins. It was Monster Core, my father carried several of them he had scavenged or won over the years. Each one served a different purpose such as red for fire and strength, yellow for light, blue for purification and water spells, green for earth magic and strength. I had yet to see my father use any other colors but I knew that he had them on hand. He always carried the small gems in a satchel attached to his belt. As a survivor he was ready for anything. On his back he had a backpack with a sleeping bag, rope, fishing wire, several knives, a flint, food, a canteen, medicinal herbs, cookware, and even wraps for his feet if his boots became damaged.

“Lead the way,” he said. “But don’t get too far ahead of me. Remember, no wandering off on your own. Stay within sight of me.”

I nodded walking part what little remained of the golem, it still amazed me that my father had slain it with so few hits and no damage. Trying my best we walked down through the ruined hallways where I ran towards the warm air of the outside world. I was amazed that I still remembered the way, before I had sprinted, looking all over for Ajax and Pan. Now, I walked, noticing the murals, the stories of Chernobog painted, though withered, in amazing detail all around us. Unfortunately, neither my father nor I could read any of the ancient language.

“Look here,” my father said. “Looks like Chernobog had a brother.”

I tried to read the name, it was Belobog, God of Light, Heroism, also known as the light serpent. He was the exact opposite of Chernobog who defeated him with the help of the Dark One and the Kudlak during Ursa Minor when the Doomsday Hounds were released and the Zorya were killed. According to my mothers, the Zorya were guardians that guarded the gates of the afterlife. Each night, the sun dies and is restored in the midnight star’s arms, together the Zorya watch over the doomsday hounds that threaten to eat the constellations, Ursa Minor, to be exact ‘the little bear constellation. When their chains were broken the constellations were devoured, and since the world has been slowly coming to an end. It wasn’t a pleasant tale though my mothers did say that once the Kudlak was defeated, along with the hounds, and the Dark One, it was possible the constellations would be reborn and fill the world with hope.

“Do you think moms are right?” I asked my father.

“About what?” he questioned, not sure what I was on about.

“That once the Kudlak is defeated, the hounds, the Dark One, that hope will return to the world?” I asked.

“Of course, anything your moms say is true, believe me,” he smirked. Of course that was going to be his answer. My dad was completely enthralled with all four of them, completely, dumbfounded. Not that I could blame him, a true warrior would do anything for their harem.

Despite my father’s best intentions, I knew better. It would take a lot more than defeating the Kudlak to change the world. Even in my past life the world was filled with monsters. From goblins, demons, vampires. The only difference was that there had been balance. For every demon there was a hero with a sword, for every goblin a goblin slayer. Even vampire hunters made up a large portion of monster hunters, each dedicated to honing their skills in killing the undead. I’d never even heard of a Kudlak before. It was still hard to believe such a creature was a type of vampire, from what I knew about it I would assumed it was a shapeshifter. No, to make the world a better place first we would have to bring balance back to it, after that it would be up to us and the generations after to hold that balance.

True peace was never an option, only the ability to live better lives.

I stayed silent as I led my father back through the rest of the tunnels. We finally came back to the sanctum that held the statue. It felt empty now. Nothing left but worn murals on the walls and the smell of humidity coming from the tunnels that led to the river.

“We need to be careful,” I began. “There is a giant Agama in the tunnels ahead of us, it ate several of the arachnids so I know its strong.”

“Strength doesn’t necessarily mean that its dangerous,” my father smiled.

“This thing is a monster,” I said, trying to sound courageous. I feared the Agama more than I feared the Arachnids.

“Let’s see this monster,” my father grinned.

I led us quietly through the tunnels to large chamber with the underground river. It was brighter than I remembered as blue moss lit the top of the cavern, like stars.

“There it is,” I said pointing across the water. I could make it out clearly with my Dark Vision but wasn’t sure if my father had any similar abilities.

“Tell me son, how well can you see in the dark?” he asked.

“Perfect,” I said turning towards him.

“Silver eyes, well-done,” he said. I gave a little half-smile as my father pulled out a small vile of purple liquid from his bag and drank it. Wiping away at his mouth he shut his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. They were glowing silver just like mine.

“What is that?”

“An alchemist back in our camp makes these. I’m not sure whats in it but its very bitter. It gives a human Dark Vision for a few hours. I always keep two or three on hand just in case,” my father smirked. Always prepared. That was his way. That was the primary lesson he always tried to teach me.

Since we were both able to see in the dark my father put the other glowing gem he had been carrying with him away.

“You see it?” I asked, making sure he could see the Agama. It was sleeping, bubbles foaming near its mouth as its tail moved back and forth in the water. It was curled up beside a large rock, pieces of dead Arachnid were laying in pieces around it.

“Seems friendly.”

“Friendly? That monster almost ate us,” I tried to keep my voice down but I was getting worked up. Exactly what my father wanted.

“That creature is no different than you or me. Look closer,” my father kneeled and pointed.

Underneath the Agama I could see it was using bones, tree stems, and other muck that washed down the river as a nest. Barely visible under its back legs were several eggs.

“It was protecting its nest. When you stumbled upon it I wouldn’t be surprised if it was out gathering food.”

My father was right. I wasn’t sure how I missed it before. It wasn’t that far from here that we ran into the Agama. It was using the tunnel connected to the cliff to hunt Arachnids in the ruins.

“Demons, humans, and nature. Life continues to find a way,” my father smiled. I looked up at him. He was right.

“So we shouldn’t be afraid of it?” I asked.

“As long as we stay out of its way it won’t bother with us. It’s probably eaten its fair share of humans, or been run off enough times to understand that we aren’t worth the trouble.”

“What about the Arachnid’s venom? It seems like it would be more dangerous to hunt them,” I pointed out.

“You already know. Agama can stomach it. They are immune to most venoms, same with Krsniks, like you,” my father reached over and I realized I had a large scrape on my right arm. “Looks like you scrapped a fang, lucky you inherited more of your mother’s side.”

I felt the rough bevel of my arm. I barely even noticed, assuming I had gotten the scratch when I jumped from the cliff above. I had no idea that I was immune to toxins.

“You got lucky, next time you’ll need to be better prepared. I understand how difficult it is for you to shape shift but I’ll see if I can’t find you some enchanted clothing the next time I venture to the mainland, pants, a shirt, maybe a jacket, something that can transform with you,” my father was being very forgiving. I expected a lecture about staying safe, maybe something about not running head first into battle but we both knew better.

If I was lucky I would spend most of my life running headstrong into battle, protecting others, defeating the forces of darkness.

“Magic items like that exist still?” I said surprised. The ‘still’ was a slip but my father paid little attention to it. He probably assumed I read it in a book or heard about such items in a story.

“Rare but they do exist, there are still a few safe villages and cities on the mainland that trade in unique items to guilds.”

“Does that mean the Adventurer’s Guild is still around?” I asked.

“Now that is a term I haven’t heard in a long time. The organization that oversaw the guilds and assigned quests for rewards. They are still around in some capacity but they focus more on training warriors and mages.”

“Training?” I asked. That was a far cry from the Adventurer’s Guild as I knew them.

“Black Magic Academy for mages, Hearts and Valor for warriors. Those are probably the two largest they support. There are a few smaller ones that pop up here and there but all it takes it one corrupted student or demonic possession to ruin an entire academy’s reputation.”

“Did you go to one of the Guild’s academies?” I asked.

“I did. It is actually where I met Cass. Kalla introduced us knowing we would all make such a great team,” my father smirked. I knew exactly what he met by team but ignored it.

“There is the cliff,” I pointed upward. “Thats where we jumped into the river.” I could still see the opening next to the waterfall. It was a lot smaller than I remembered it being. Just wide enough for the Agama to move through with some wiggle room for large snacks.

“That’s high!” my father exclaimed.

I turned to him. I wanted to curse, tell him ‘no shit’, it was a wonder that the three of us didn’t die when we hit the water below but I held my tongue.

“Looks like we’re going to have to find another passage,” my father groaned rubbing his chin. He was deep in thought. It was obvious we couldn’t climb back up the way Ajax, Pan, and I had fallen, but my father was determined to retrieve Ajax’s dagger.

“I don’t see any other way,” I told him.

“Nonsense, there is always another way.”

“We can’t climb up water.”

“Gob seems hungry, why don’t we fish for a little bit and think about it,” he answered sitting down on a rock. He was still staring upwards at the cliff as he reached inside his bag and pulled out a donut shaped reel with line hanging off the bottom. Reaching his hand down he grabbed a small bug and placed it gently on a hook.

This was a first. I’d never been fishing like this with my father. I wasn’t hungry, and neither was Gob, but my father decided this was the right time and place for us to have some fun.